The versatility of the Marine Corps’ KC-130 aerial refueler/transport aircraft has been appreciated by Marines since its debut in
1962, and has been growing even more with the operational success of the KC-130J Super Hercules version.

The installation of the Hercules Airborne Weapons
Kit, or Harvest HAWK, a weapons and sensor suite,
gives the KC-130J a close-air support role. The Marine
Corps now is preparing to introduce an upgrade to the
Harvest HAWK configuration.

Three additional crew members
are required for these modified
The KC-130J crew acquires targets with the electro-optical infrared sensor and launches the weapons using
laser designation or Global Positioning System coordinates for targeting.

The Harvest HAWK capability is not the first weapon-ization of a C-130. The U.S. Air Force has used AC-130
gunships since the late 1960s in many combat operations, using their high-volume, rapid-fire side-firing
guns for interdiction and close-air support. The Harvest
HAWK program uses a different concept of operations,
relying on precision-guided missiles rather than guns,
although the Air Force’s newest version, the AC-130W,
now fires Griffin and Viper Strike missiles as well.

The Marine Corps has a requirement for six Harvest
HAWK mission kits — of which five currently are fielded — for use on existing KC-130Js. Of the five KC-130
squadrons within the Marine Corps, only the two active
component squadrons based in the United States —
Marine Aerial Refueler/Transport Squadrons 252 and
352, one on each coast — are equipped with Harvest
HAWK-capable KC-130Js. Each of the two squadrons is
assigned five KC-130Js modified for the kits and each